Research

Doing research is finding out as much as possible about an issue, finding good questions to ask, formulating one major research question, and then attempting to find answers to that question, it is avital part of daily life as well as an essential part of academic and scholarly work. Every 408 student must write an eight page research paper. The research paper project is worth one-fifth of thefinal grade (20%). See the attached Research Paper Evaluation Form for the detailed breakdown of points.
Research Requirements:
* 8-10 pages in length
* MLA documentation style
* Six ormore reference sources; no more that three to be on-line sources
* Format: double spaced, single side of paper, one inch margins
* Use Chapter 14 in text as a reference

ESTABLISHING YOURRESEARCH TOPIC: This will give you your sense of direction, but you need to narrow your topic so it will be manageable for a 8-10 page paper. You will need to do a great deal of background readingbefore settling on a narrow enough topic. You may need to refine your topic as you do your research.

In 408, “research” is primarily reporting what expert sources say about a topic. Of course,you can give your own opinions, but the focus must be on what others have said about your topic. Since this is a research paper, you must be careful tot give credit for any material that you use from asource. This requirement holds for quotations, paraphrases, and summaries.

You may choose your own topic. A good choice would be a debatable issue in your field of study or major. If you havetrouble choosing a topic, I suggest that you write on a topic in the “Opposing Viewpoints” database, which we will see during our library visit or researchinstruction{ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/e-resources/viewpoints.html}. However, in either case, you will need to restrict your paper to one aspect of the topic so that you can adequately cover the topic in 8-10 pages.
EXAMPLE:
PRELIMINARY...